Locomotive feed-water heating equipment



News, 1940. J. s. COFHN. JR" 2220,365

LOCOMOTIVE FEED-WATER HEATING EQUIPMENT Filed Dec. 12, 1956 3 Sheets-Shesc 1 V II III 111111.111 6w 1L 11 1111 1 1 1 111 1i i 8 I i. 7

\ Mullmmimmm INVENTOR 29a 1 +05%, a ATTORNEYS Nov. 5, 1940. J. 5. COFFIN. JR

LOCOMQTIVE FEED-WATER HEATING EQUIPMENT Filed Dec. 12, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 1940- J. 5. COFFIN. JR ,2

LOCOMOTIVE FEED-WATER HEATING EQUIPMENT Filed Dec. 12, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 5, 1940 UNITED-STATES PATENT FFlCE- LOCOMOTIVE FEED-WATER- HEATING EQUIPMENT Joel S. C'oflin, Jr., Englewood, N. .L, assignor to C-S Engineering Company, Englewood, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application December 12, 1936', Serial No.'115,568

2 Claims. (or. 122-423) This invention relates to locomotive feed-water heating equipment or other auxiliaries and methods of installation, and is especially concerned' with improvements in that general type 5 of installation wherein the feed-water heating equipment is in large part recessed within the normal overall confines of the locomotive smoke box or front-end structure. The nature, objects and advantages of the present invention will be best understood after a brief description of the prior practice in this art.

In my prior Patent 'No. 1,803,793, issued May 5, 1931, there is disclosed one" arrangement of recessed heater installation, in which a generally arcuate or inverted U-shaped recess is formed or constructed as an integral part of the smoke-box shell or casing, which recess is left open at one of the exterior faces or surfaces of the smoke-box until after insertion of the heater mechanism and thereafter closed by a cover plate, and fur- .ther in which the shell structure of the smokebox which is shaped to form the heater recess, also serves as part of the casing of the heater itself. Said patent further, as the preferred embodiment, discloses the heater recess structure as an integral part of a cast steel smoke-box shell, the recess being initially open at the front and thereafter closed by a front cover plate. Alternative forms of said patented construction have been used in actual service, chief among which is an arrangement in which the smoke-box shell is formed of ordinary boiler plating, the shell being inwardly depressed from the peripheral wall, to form a recess for the heater, but in such modifications the heater was made with a separate casing, completein itself, which was then saddled in the smoke-box recess.

Furthermore, in all instances prior to my present invention, so far as I am aware, the recess,

6 whether made of boiler plate or otherwise formed, and whether having its heater-receiving opening at the front or at the periphery, has been initially made as'a unified part of the smoke-box construction. This has involved some substan- 5' tial practical problems for the locomotive builder in the forming of the recessed smoke-box shell, which is quite a difiicult operation; in the accurate alignment and mounting of the heater therein; and. in the making of the various con- 50? nections to and from the heater. U

Among the primary purposes of the present invention are the overcoming of the above-mentioned difficulties, and in general the improve ment of the heater structure, and. of the recess 55 construction which servesas a part of the heater itself, and also the improvement of'the method of installation; with resultant simplifications and savings in cost and in the weight added to the locomotive by the heater installation.

The invention broadly contemplates the in- 5 dentation or recessing of the peripheral wall or shell of the smoke-box, from the outside, in a manner to provide an inverted U-shaped heater casing, particularly adapted for the reception of an arcuate heater, the tube plates of which are 10 secured to horizontal floor or foundation plates positioned at each side of the smoke-box shell, within said recess, the heater casing being completed by arernovable wrapper sheet which forms the exterior peripheral wall of the heater casing 15 itself, thus making a steam-tight enclosure, and completes the continuity-of the external cylindrical shape of the smoke-box. I L

, Further, the present invention contemplates, as a specific-though not the only-manner of 20 construction, the separate formation of the heater recess structure, adapting it accurately to the heaterunit which is' to be installed, and the sub- 7 sequent installation of the recess structure by a novel and simplified method in either existing 25 or new locomotives. The invention furtherinvolves the making of certain of the steam pas-' sages of the heater as an integral part of the separate or unitary recess; structure, preferably prior to installation of said structure. Still further, 30 the invention involves, in preferred form, improvements in the heater unit, particularly in the detailed arrangement of the headers and tube plat-esfor cooperation with and final attachment to the heater recess structure. 35

Still more specifically, the invention involves the formation of a heater recess structure, preferably made of plateswelded together, said structure forming-a heater recess or pocket which is U-shaped' in cross section" and also the shape of 4 an inverted U when viewed in a plane transversely through the locomotive, the same preferably comprising" front, rear, and internal peripheral walls, a steam pipe or pas-sage adjacent the front'wall, an arcuate perioratedbafiie plate spacedre'arwardly from the steam delivery pipe, and heater foundation plates'or' flanges, one at each side, positioned horizontally at about the mid-horizontal plane of the structure for cooperation withthe heater tube plates and headers,'.the'whole being formed as a unitary structure and adaptedt'o' be secured in place at the front end of a smoke-box which is formed or cut out to align withthe rear and bottom edges of the recess structure, and further adapted to be secured in place, as by Welding, to the smokebox structure, preferably intermediate a pair of smoke-box foundation rings; the recess being finally closed, after insertion of the heater unit itself, by a top cover or arcuate wrapper plate which is tightly though removably secured in place, as by studs or bolt-s, or by a line of welding which is exposed and readily adapted to be chipped out by common chipping equipment at present available.

Still furthen'the recess, so formed, has a continuation at each side extending downwardly below the plane of the heater foundation plates,

for reception of pipes and pipe joints for the steam and water connections. The arrangement also contemplates the securing of the tube plates of the heater unit on top of the respective foundation plates of the recess, the location of the heater headers beneath said foundation plates .and delivering up through apertures therein, and the'com mon clamping of said parts to said foundation plates, and the further support and proper spacing of the tubes of the bundle by apertured plates which bear upon the inner peripheral wall of the recess structure when the heater unit is dropped down in place into the recess. Other features of the construction include utilization of the steam delivery passages or piping as a bracing for the heater and for the smoke-box itself, and/or as a part of the front wall of the recess structure, the interconnection of such piping with the forward foundation ring of the smoke-box and thus the interbracing of the heater and smoke-box structure; and as an alternative the formation of the steam delivery conduits by a built-up'or welded plate construction; and with either form of steam passages, the interbracing of the same with the perforated baflle plate.

How the foregoing objects and advantages are attained, together with such other objects and advantages as may hereinafter appear or may occur to those skilled in the art, will be clear from the following description, taken with the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the front end of a locomotive, illustrating the preferred embodiment of the present invention applied thereto, certain parts of the recessand heater construction being broken away and shown in section (the usual front cover of the locomotive smoke-box, and certain other parts, being omitted) v I Figure 2 is a front view, taken from the right of Figure 1 (the front cover of the smoke-box being omitted here also) Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section taken about on the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a section, to a larger scale, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, transversely through the recess and heater structure adjacent the plane of one of the tube sheets, but omitting the said sheet and the heater tubes;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the heater recess construction and associated parts, when separately built as a unit, ready for application to the locomotive smoke-box, and illustrating in chain dotted lines the front and rear foundation rings of the smoke-box, with which said structure cooperates;

Figure 6 isa similar perspective view of thearcuate cover plate or wrapper sheet which serves,

as the closure of the recess of Figures 1 to 5 and as the exterior peripheral, wall of the steam casing of the heater, the remainder, of which is formed by the recess itself; and

Figure 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the inventiton, the view being taken through the heater casing and recess structure on a longitudinal vertical plane coinciding with the longitudinal mid-plane of the locomotive, parts being broken away and other parts shown in section, to illustrate the differences between this embodiment and the first embodiment.

Referring now to the first embodiment of the invention, it will be seen that the cylindrical shell 8 of the locomotive smoke-box is (in the case of a locomotive built for the purpose) provided with a cut-out at the forward end extending down about five-sixths of the way to the bottom, or (in the case of an existing locomotive) the smoke-box is cut away, upon a vertical transverse plane extending from point a to point D and cut away on a horizontal plane from point b to point 0. The shell 8 has the usual bottom bracing plate 8a (forming no part of the present invention) which, in this instance, extends upward at each side to Just about the level of the bottom of the cut-out.

The usual foundation'ring 9 is located at the front ofthe smoke-box shell, and is secured in place at the front edge of the forwardly extending bottom portion of the shell. The ordinary front-end cover may be secured to the ring 9 all the way around the periphery.

According to the present invention, a supplemental foundation ring 9a is provided and is located at the front edge of the upper portion of the shell, i. e., just to the rear of the heater location, this supplemental foundation ring being secured in place around the peripheral edge where the shell has been cut away, and extending from point I) on one side of the smoke-box around to point D on the other side. The supplemental ring Sathus-need not be a complete ring, but may terminate'in rounded ends 9b (as seen in Figures 3 and 5). A filler strip 8b is secured at the outer periphery of the front foundation ring 9 and extends from the point e on one side to the point on the other, and may there be welded in place (as seen in Figure 2), this strip being of the same thickness as the smoke-box shell 8, so that (as seen at the top of Figure 1) the upper surface of filler strip 822 is on the same horizontal level with the upper surface of the smoke-box shell 8. If the heater recess is separately constructed, as hereinafter to be described, itis adapted to be slipped down into place between the front and rear foundation rings 9 and 9a, or alternatively the front foundation ring 9 may be put into place after-the recess construction is in position.

The heater recess construction, which is best illustrated as a separate unit in Figure 5, comprises an inner peripheral wall plate I0, of armate or inverted U-form; a rear plate or wall II, which issubstantially semi-circular and is secured adjacent the rear edge of the plate It], as by welding I 2 (see Figure 4); a front wall which in this embodiment is formed ,in large part by an arcuate steam pipe [3 andin part by plates l4 welded at l to the steam pipe and at IE to' the inner plate I0 (as seen in Figures 4 and 5);

and an end closure or floor, at each'sideof the device, formed by the floor plate I! which fits aroundthe steam pipe I 3, and by the foundation plate or flange structure Ila, which are welded togetherat I 8, as seen in Figure 1. In this embodiment, the front wall of the-recess is finally completed by the front foundation ring 9, to which thepipe I3 is welded as at I9 (Figure 4) after the installation of the recess."

The recess construction, in addition to including the delivery piping I3 to the heater, which conveys exhaust steam into the heater, preferably additionally includestheperforated steam delivering or distributing baiile plate of the heater itself, the same being secured to the inner wall plate It as by welding shown at 21 (Figure 4) and interbraced with the steam pipe. I3 by members 22. A condensate outlet fitting 23 (one at-each side of the device) is welded tothe back plate II, as at 24 (Figure 4) these fittings extending rearwardly from said plate and being located just above the level of the foundation plate structure Ila. The steam pipe I3 has at each side a downwardly and rearwardly directed end portion l3a, terminating in a flanged coupling member I31), located within the recess space below the foundation plate or floor I1, Ila to take steam from the pipes 25, one at each side of the locomotive, which are coupled up to the exhaust steam passages in the steam chests 26. The pipe I3 is adapted to deliver the steam, in the top of the heater casing, through an elongated opening 30 which is shrouded by a baiiie member 2?, from whence the steam is distributed downwardly at each side of the heater, in the passage between the pipe I3 and the perforated plate 20, the steam being delivered through said perforations into the main chamber of the heater for distribution among the tubes thereof.

The complete, unitary heater recess and casing structure, when built separately from the smokeebox as just above described, is slipped down in place, into the position shown in Figure 1, between the foundation rings 9 and 9a, and is there preferably welded, as at I9 in the front and at 28 in the back (Figure 4) and al'ongthe lines b-c at the bottom (Figures 1 and 2). 1

. Either before application of the recess structure to the smoke-box shell itself, or more preferably thereafter, the heater unit, comprising the bundle of tubes 20.- and the tube plates '30, is slipped down into place in the recess, with said. tube plates resting, one at each side of the device, upon the upper surface of the flanged foundation plates Ila. The tube spacer plates 31 (Figure 3) through which the tubes pass, then rest in position upon the upper surface of the inner peripheral wall I0. An inlet water header 3|, at one side of the mechanism, and an outlet water header 32 at the opposite side, are then put in place at the bottom faces of the foundation plates Ila, and the tube plates and headers are then clamped tight to the plates I'Ia by shoulder studs 33. The water inlet pipe 34 which extends upward into the recess at the lower end thereof on the left side of the locomotive, is then coupled to the inlet header 3|, and a similar water outlet pipe 35 leading to thelocomotive boiler is coupled up to the outlet header 32. The internal construction of these headers need not be herein shown, since it may be formed after the manner disclosed in Patent No. 1,803,772 issued May 5, 1931 to Eugene L. and Christopher A. Schellens, having suitable passages and partitions to direct the water in several passes through the various groups of the tubes in the tube bundle 29. It is preferable to arrange the water inlet at the rear of the tube bundle and the water outlet at the front thereof (as shown) so that the several passes of water through the tubes 29 are in counter-fiow to the flow of the steam rearwardly amongst the tubes, in accordance with the teaching of said Patent No. 1,803,772.

The condensate drain pipes 36 are coupled up to the fittings 24,. and may be brought out through the smoke-box wall at each side of the locomotive (as shown), from whence they may be carried back for delivery of the condensate to the tender (not shown). The installation is completed by letting the arcuate cover plate 38 down upon the top of the recess, and securing the same in place to form a steam-tight joint for the enclosed chamber. This may be fastened in place by exteriorly welding the same all the way around the edge of the cover plate 38, as shown at 35! in Figures 1 to 4 (the lower ends of the cover plate terminating at thefoundatiom, plates I'Ia), or alternatively studs or bolts may be used, as referred to hereinafter with reference to the modification of Figure 7. When so welded the cover plate is easily re.- moved. by the chipping equipment now readily available, this removal being unnecessary except at times of major repairs to the heater.

Iii-the modification shown in Figure 7, the recess structure is similar to that already described, comprising chiefly an inner peripheral wall plate Illa, a rear plate Ila, a front plate Ma, foundation or floor plating lib, I'Ic, and-a perforated baflieplate 20a. In this instance, however, the steam conduit 40 is built up of plates, comprising a front plate Ha, parallel plate Al, the portion 42 of the inner peripheral wall plate 10a, and the outer peripheral plate 43. Steam inlet connections 40a are weldedto the lower end of this structure at each side, and a steam outlet 4% is positioned at the top. Braces 22a may also be employed.

All of this structure may desirably be welded together, as shown in Figure 7, and then welded in place between the foundation rings 9 and 9a. After installation of the heater unit, the cover plate 38a may be put in place as before, and'is here shown as being removably but tightly secured to the associated parts by means of bolts or studs 44.

From the foregoing detailed description it will now be apparent how the various objects and advantages of the invention are secured by the embodiments illustrated. A fekv of the chief advantages -might, however, be somewhat elaborated at this point, as follows:

In the first place, the exterior depressing or indentation of the smoke-box shell in a manner to provide both a recess for the heater and a combined smoke-box shell and heater shell, with suitable means at each side (such as the plates for removably securing the tube sheets rigidly to the unified shell) results in simplification of the combined smoke-box and heater structure and simplified installation of the tube bundle, results further in a high heating efficiency, since the smoke-box shell structure (which is exposed to the heat inside the smoke-.

box) is itself a major part of the heater casing, and finally results in a substantial saving in weight (of the order of 1000 pounds per locomotive) and also a saving in cost. Letting the heater tube bundle down from above, into the indented smoke-box, which itself serves asthe heater casing, is further a much simpler procedure than heretofore employed and renders it much easier to rigidly and securely position the tube bundle and attach the various pipe connections. Furthermore, the outside peripheral wrapper sheet, forming a combined closure of the smoke-box recess and of the heater casing, can be readily applied and removed, without disturbing in any way the various parts within the smoke-box, or the smoke-box front cover, which latter can thus be the ordinary construction, without any special modification of form or means of attachment as compared to standard practice.

If the recess portion of the smoke-box, with the steam delivery conduit and baflle plate of the heater, is formed entirely as a separate unit (which is the preferred arrangement, though the invention is not in its broadest aspect limited thereto), the work in the locomotive erecting shop or in the railroad repair shop is materially simplified, as thedifiiculty of forming the combined heater recess and easing structure as an integral part of the smoke-box shell can be eliminated, it being only necessary to form the cylindrical shell with a cut-out at its upper forward end (in the case of new equipment) or to similarly cut back the cylindrical shell (in the case of existing equipment), and apply a secondary or supplemental foundation ring. In addition, the ultimate result is a stiffer and stronger smoke-box structure. As to the fitting and connecting up of the heater unit, i. e., the tube bundle, tube plates, headers, etc., it will now be apparent that this can, if desired, be coordinated with the construction of the recess itself, at the plant of the heater manufacturer, so that accurate alignment, fitting, and connection of these parts and of the various pipe connections thereto is assured, and is simplified as compared with prior practice. Furthermore, the headers which are mounted below the recess foundation plates and the tube bundle and tube plates which are mounted above the foundation plates, while rigidly secured in their proper cooperative relationship by this invention, and more readily removable for repairs or replacement than in prior constructions; accurate registry of these parts, when assembled, being assured by their common clamping to the foundation plates. The tube plates are positioned in rectangular apertures in said foundation plates, and the headers abut against the bottom faces of said tube plates, as shown, the tube plates having flanges positioned abovev the foundation plates, and the headers having flanges positioned therebelow, said flanges being commonly clamped to the foundation plates. With all of the foregoing advantages, and the other advantages hereinbefore mentioned, the arrangement retains the advantage of having the steam delivery connections and water connections recessed within the peripheral confines of the smoke-box shell, and yet accessible from the exterior of said shell.

While two embodiments of the invention have been illustrated, it will be evident that further modifications, rearrangements, and changes in parts of the structure, might be made, within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a locomotive front-end construction, a peripherally indented smoke-box shell forming part of a heater casing,a peripherally disposed wrapper sheet having a steam-tight connection with said shell and secured in place over the open periphery of said casing and forming the outer peripheral wall thereof, said casing being in arcuate form across the top of the smoke-box from one side to the other, and foundation plates secured in position to form-end walls for said casing at each side .of the smoke-box.

2. In a locomotive front-end construction, a peripherally indented smoke-box shell forming part of a heater casing, a peripherally disposed wrapper sheet having a steam-tight connection with said shell and secured in place over the open periphery of said casing and forming the outer peripheral wall thereof, said casing being in arcuate form across the top of the smoke-box from one side to the other, foundation plates secured in position to form end walls for said casing at each side of, the smoke-box, and a heater unit comprising an arcuate tube bundle recessed in said casing and tube plates secured to said foundation plates, the indentation extending downwardly at each side of the smoke-box to receive recessed pipe connections to the heater.

JOEL S. COFFIN, JR. 

